Monday, March 24, 2014

Bought a 'spare' engine

Having tinkered with most of the car, the main thing that has gone untouched is the engine. This is for 2 main reasons. The first is that I know nothing about engines, and the second is that I want to use the car as a daily run-about and if I removed the engine, presumably the only way to use the car would be to fit it with peddles.

So how do I play at being a mechanic and keep the car on the road (without peddling)... Buy a spare engine of course. This way I get to do both. Having spent the last couple of months watching engines on Ebay, I got an idea of the price and condition I was interested in.

My budget was a whopping £50 and I wanted an engine complete with head, gearbox and carb. Also it had to be within reasonable driving distance, i.e. less that 2 hours away. The moon on a stick, I know!! But my patience has finally paid off as I managed to score a 30 year old beaten up 998cc engine for £51.

And here is the handsome devil in all it's glory.

It may look like junk and it might even turn out to be, but it does give me a chance to get my hands dirty and learn what goes where without the risk of knackering up my own engine.

My plan is to slowly strip it down over summer. Clean and assess each and every part. If it's looking like a goer, I will buy the new parts needed and rebuild the engine in time for winter. Assuming it all goes well, the winter project is to swap the engines over while the car is 'resting' and have it ready again for next spring, then strip the original engine and rebuild it as a spare.

Well that's the plan anyway. I have yet to pick the engine up, but when I do, I will post again with my initial assessments regarding it's general appearance...